Our holiday in
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We stayed, as we did in 1997, in a
small villa in the Cerro Grande area of Albufeira. The Villa Solmar is within easy walking
distance of the old centre of Albufeira.
This means that Roger didn’t have to drive all the time, particularly
welcome in the evening, when a good meal is improved by a bottle of wine.
However, we avoided the crowded town
beach during the day and usually drove the short distance to the extensive
sands of Gale, part way between Albufeira and Armacao de Pera.
Roger made his usual series of
sandcastles, which still turned heads, I may say. Here he is with one of them.
Our hire car this year was a Daewoo Matiz in silver grey – this year’s
fashion colour. Apart from tootling down
to the beach, this enabled us to make a few expeditions – but not many, because
sitting in a hot car (or even an air-conditioned car) during July does not seem
to us the ideal way of enjoying ourselves.
Of interest, were the springs at Alte, which perhaps deserve to be
better known, because there seemed to be few foreign visitors there. In a leafy glade, there are a series of
bathing and picnic areas, and some Roman remains. Relief from the hot sun, if you remember to
take your swimming costume.
As at most villas, there was a pile
of books, both racy and not-so-racy, left by previous occupants. Teresa donated a few more and hopefully left
her e-mail address in them.
We have
been going to the
Mosquitoes We have had no problems at the last villa we stayed at: it was urban and close to the sea, though there was waste ground opposite. However, we have suffered in the past, particularly at inland villas in the middle of the sticks. But the advice is clear: buy a good spray – the local Dum-Dum is very effective – ON THE FIRST DAY. Day Two may be too late. If the little beasts are plenteous and persistent, it may be worth buying a deterrent plug. |
Dogs The Portuguese attitudes to dogs are different from the British. Dogs are forbidden on the beaches. So, though you can’t discount the odd stray, generally the beaches are free of any problems dogs might bring, or leave behind. However, dogs are also allowed to roam the streets, particularly in the evening, and at street restaurants you could be harassed by animals looking for food. If you would rather avoid this, seek out restaurants where access is controlled – for example, on terraces, roof gardens or even indoors. |
Money Changing For some reason, long queues form at the banks,
particularly on Monday mornings – but service is slow, rates poor and
commission is charged. Avoid
them. We take travellers’ cheques and
use the specialist bureaux de change, which are plentiful in the town
centres, have competitive rates and charge no commission. Although you will want to arrive in country
with some local currency, also bear in mind that you will get far better
rates for the pound in |
Packing You will always bring back far more than you take out. We have started to pack an empty holdall type bag in our luggage on the way out to provide the extra space on the way back. On the other hand, it is easy to over-estimate what you need to take in the first place: dress is informal virtually everywhere; the weather is predictable – ie hot – and drying clothes in the sun takes only a couple of hours. You could easily keep a couple of outfits going for the whole of the holiday. But don’t forget, this is the Atlantic coast and take a thick sweater – you may not need it, but it could just turn chilly at night. |
Fun Parks There are several water slide parks, mostly on the N125
Faro to |
Last
amended on 10 November 2000.